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As an author working hard to gain exposure and popularity for my book, REVIEWS are critically important and greatly appreciated – especially when they are positive! I am grateful for all the 5-star reviews the book has received on Amazon.com (please leave one if you’ve read and enjoyed the book).

This week a great review was published on Fupping.com. Not only is the review very positive, but the reviewer, Robert Heaney, had never heard of Troma before, and is not a professional marketer or business person. Still, he found the book, “a thoroughly enjoyable and educational read.”

Regardless of whether or not you’re looking for guidance on improving and building up a business, readers will doubtless come out with a wealth of business-related knowledge previously unknown to them (in addition to a lot of Troma trivia).

It was encouraging and rewarding for me to read this review as it reflects my goal for the book – to appeal to both fans of Troma, and folks who have never heard of Troma, and to provide valuable insights and entertainment to all readers. According to this reviewer, I have accomplished that goal. 🙂

If you have read the book and enjoyed it, please leave a review on Amazon. It helps a lot, especially when a book has 100 or more reviews. If you haven’t read the book, please consider buying it, or if you prefer, you can read it for free (over time, chapter by chapter) here and on Medium.

Getting a glowing review on Amazon is great (please leave one!) It is also great to get a review on a popular blog – in this case the witty and well regarded The Daddy Complex, written by David Vienna. Once upon a time, I too was a “dad blogger” and I first met David at the Dad2Summit back in 2013. When he learned that I had once worked for Troma, whereas most folks run away when they become aware of my illustrious past, David embraced it (and me). I knew at once I had met a true Troma fan. In David’s own words:

I was an awkward kid and not into things like “going outdoors” or “maintaining friendships.” So I spent literally every day watching movies—either rented from the local video store or whatever was on late-night TV. I was into cult films and low budget stuff, so one of my favorite movie studios was Troma.

With that in mind, I was happy to send David a copy of Everything I Know about Business and Marketing, I Learned from THE TOXIC AVENGER. I was eager to get his feedback, and honored when he chose to write about the book.

Jeffrey took all of his absolutely batshit crazy experiences at Troma and turned them into a marketing how-to book with the best title ever… What’s great about the book is it actually serves a dual purpose. One part memoir, one part marketing guide—Everything I Know offers short digestible stories of the madness Jeffrey experienced while at Troma and pulls simple marketing lesson from the somewhat organized chaos.

Ron Jackson is a former TV News Reporter and station Sports Director. He is a consummate journalist that today serves as Editor and Publisher of Domain Name Journal (DNJournal.com) the highly regarded online Trade Publication for the Domain Name industry. I recently gave Ron a copy of my book when we were both at the Domaining Europe conference in Berlin. Ron must have had a boring flight back to the U.S. because he had the time to read the book along the way. He also seemed to like it and wrote a great and fun article about it in his popular “The Lowdown” column.

What Sass can do is spin some fascinating yarns about his days in the late 80s and early 90s with legendary New York City-based cult movie production houseTroma Entertainment where he spent more than seven and half years in film production, marketing, acting and assorted mayhem… Jeff learned many valuable and timeless business and marketing lessons from his experiences at Troma and he shares the best of those in his new book – in each case noting how the specific lesson learned can be applied in any business or marketing campaign today.

I mentioned that Ron is the consummate journalist. As such, it seems he could not read my tales of movie mayhem without getting a firsthand taste of Tromaville himself. So after returning from Berlin, it seems Ron did a bit of B-movie binge-watching, turning to Tromatizing his Netflix account by watching The Toxic Avenger, Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD, Rabid Grannies, and more. And Ron still wrote a great article about Everything I Know about Business and Marketing, I Learned from THE TOXIC AVENGER.

As you can imagine, when publishing a book, the reviews it receives carry a lot of weight in helping others decide whether they want to purchase and read it. I can remember in the good old moviemaking days how we waited with baited breath for the reviews to hit for our films. Even in Tromaville, reviews mattered and we were always thrilled when one of our meager movies got noticed by a mainstream reviewer. Like when Stephen Holden of the NY Times said Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD, “…is funny in a Mad Magazine-manque sort of way…” That was a great review (and compliment). Even the late, great, Roger Ebert was often kind with his thumbs when it came to Troma’s fare.

As for my book, while it has only been a few weeks since Everything I Know about Business and Marketing, I Learned from THE TOXIC AVENGER has been published, the initial reviews on Amazon.com have been very positive. It is great to hear from people who have spent a few bucks and taken the time to read my words, especially to hear that they found value and inspiration from the stories and lessons I share in the book.

Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed the book so far. Here are a few highlights:

What can be learned from the B-movie industry? A lot, as it turns out. Brand consistency and predictability is important there as it is for Louis Vuiton. Jeff’s stories of the Hell’s Kitchen low budget studio are not only funny, they are highly transferable to other industries and environments… I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and I would put it up there with books like “Positioning” by Reiss and Trout if you want to really understand how marketers think.– Fred K.

If you like movies, super heroes or have ever wondered what the real business of the independent film industry is like, you’ll enjoy this book and have great takeaway points about how to build and promote your products and services.– Jennifer Wolfe

I’ve read a lot of business and marketing books that include banal examples from Corporate America. This book is very different; it brings life to business lessons such as the importance of teams through colorful stories from the author’s personal experience at B-movie studio Troma. Several of the business lessons are ones I haven’t heard anywhere else and make a lot of sense. I highly recommend picking up this book.– Andrew

A delightful read! Engaging and educational at once. Jeff has a colorful and extensive background and I had numerous take-aways that I will apply in business and life – highly recommended.– Montagne

If you have read my book and enjoyed it, I hope you will also consider leaving a review. It really does help. And, of course, please tell others about the book if you enjoyed it. 🙂

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> About the Author

While early in his career, Jeff Sass was making B-movies, he has spent more recent years in the C-suite as a COO, CEO, and CMO. With a career spanning the entertainment, computer-game, mobile, and Internet worlds, he has written and produced for film and TV, and he has been a tech start-up entrepreneur.

A frequent speaker on entrepreneurship, mobile marketing, domain names, and social media, Jeff Sass has had articles appear in Forbes, Entrepreneur, AdAge, and many other publications. As the father of three, he has also been a prolific “dad blogger,” participating in influencer campaigns for brands including Intel, Sony, Ford, LG, Asus, and others.

Despite this seemingly successful career, Jeff Sass is happy to admit that everything he knows about business and marketing, he learned from The Toxic Avenger. For a more detailed Touch of Sass, please visit JeffreySass.com

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Reviews:

“Great book about marketing and how your career can evolve from past experiences. Easy to read.” – Amazon Customer

“It’s funny, it’s irreverent, and an incredibly valuable Primer, AND Reminder, for how to succeed in business. Thank you Jeff Sass… any interaction with you is valuable, in so many ways.” – Ted Rubin

“The author packs a lot of great marketing advice and examples in a little over 100-pages — and who doesn’t like the Toxic Avenger? I learned some stuff; confirmed some other things and thoroughly enjoyed the read. Jeff Sass can write and told a great story of his years with the cult classic movie studio Troma while weaving in dozens of important marketing and business lessons along the way.” – B. Olson

“I’ve read a lot of business and marketing books that include banal examples from Corporate America. This book is very different; it brings life to business lessons such as the importance of teams through colorful stories from the author’s personal experience at B-movie studio Troma. Several of the business lessons are ones I haven’t heard anywhere else and make a lot of sense. I highly recommend picking up this book.” – Andrew

“This is a fun book to read with great lessons for all entrepreneurs. Jeff Sass weaves his personal story working on the Toxic Avenger series and other movies into practical and wise lessons for any business owner and marketer. If you like movies, super heroes or have ever wondered what the real business of the independent film industry is like, you’ll enjoy this book and have great takeaway points about how to build and promote your products and services.” – Jennifer Wolfe